It is a tedious procedure, especially for owners of small watercraft, to retrieve heavy submerged anchor weights. This is especially true in the case of anchors which may have considerable submerged weight. The physical task of raising an anchor, especially in deep water, becomes extremely tiresome.
Mechanical lifts have been known for hoisting anchors. For example the manually operated windlass has been used in ancient times. More recently, power driven winch apparatus have been developed for hoisting submerged weights. However, such apparatus is expensive and bulky, especially for small craft. It therefore becomes desirable to obtain some form of apparatus by which submerged weights may be raised without the tedium, the bulk and expense of independently driven hoisting devices.
Aside from the manual and powered devices mentioned above, flotation hoists also have been devised for raising sunken objects. The prevalent flotation device is an inflatable bladder that is submerged and attached to the sunken weight. The bladder is then inflated to raise the weight to the surface.
The problem with this form of float is that it requires either a diver to set the flotation device, or expensive equipment to set it in place and to effect inflation.
Another flotation device is known that makes use of the power of the associated watercraft. This device includes a float with a depending cord having a ring at one end. The anchor rope is threaded through the ring and is attached to the craft. The float is placed in the water and the craft is moved under power away from the float. Buoyancy of the float and the power of the craft then cooperate to raise the anchor.
This device functions well while the craft is moving. However, once the craft is stopped, the weight will drop back down, with the anchor rope sliding freely through the ring. To retrieve the anchor, then, the operator is forced to pull the rope in while the craft is in motion. The effort required to do this may be as much or more than simply raising the anchor from the bottom with the craft at rest.
Other advancements have included gripping devices that releasably secure the float to the rope once the weight has been lifted. While these devices appear to function well, the rope clamping apparatus is often complex and has a tendency to damage the rope.
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a simple compact device for lifting submerged weights that have been attached to a watercraft by a rope or similar connector, without requiring significant manual effort.
Another object is to provide such a device that makes use of the motive power source of the watercraft to which the submerged weight is attached for raising the weight.
A still further object is to provide such a device that will raise a submerged weight to the approximate surface of the water, and maintain the weight at the raised position with the rope free to be gathered in without the submerged weight offering resistance.
A yet further object is to provide such a device that may make use of existing flotation devices such as life preservers for providing flotation to lift and buoy the weight.
A still further object is to provide such a device that is very simple in construction and with provisions to avoid damage to the rope when gripped.
These and still further objects and advantages will become apparent upon reading the following description which, taken with the accompanying drawings, describe a preferred form of the invention.